Lithuania | Marijampolé | Dairy farms
[Translate to English:] Die sehr jungen Kälber werden im Kuhstall gehalten.
[Translate to English:] Krankes Kalb, das mit Antibiotika behandelt wird.
[Translate to English:] Ein junges Kalb, das in seinem Iglu vor Kälte zittert.
[Translate to English:] Das Iglu ist für dieses grössere Kalb zu klein.
Before we follow a transport of unweaned calves from Lithuania to Spain, we want to
document keeping conditions for calves in Lithuanian dairy farms. The first farm we
visit has 100 dairy cows and about 30 calves. Five calves are only a few days old
and are kept in the cowshed. One of these animals is sick and being treated with
antibiotics. The calves which are a bit older are kept outside in individual pens. Each
pen has a calf igloo to provide shelter. However, winters are very cold in Lithuania
and several calves are shivering while standing inside the igloos. The bedding in the
igloos is very dirty and wet. We notice that none of the calves is lying down. One calf
that is standing outside the igloo seems to be too big to enter.
The farmer tells us that he sells the male calves when they are two weeks old and
keeps all female animals for milk production. The male calves are exported to the
Netherlands, Spain and Israel for meat production.